*A federal judge in Ocala, Fla. ruled Thursday that Wesley Snipes must pay more than $217,000 to reimburse the government for the costs of prosecuting his tax evasion case.
The local Star-Banner newspaper reports that Senior U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges ruled that Snipes must pay $217,363.74 of the cost of prosecuting the case, in which he was charged with conspiracy and willful failure to file federal income taxes.
In upholding a recommendation U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary R. Jones made July 2, Hodges overruled objections by Snipes' lawyers to the proposed fee.
In February, a jury found Snipes guilty of three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file tax returns, but acquitted him of felony conspiracy and tax fraud charges and three additional counts of failure to file.
Two months later, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison, but he remains free on bail while appealing his conviction.